Ten Delaware Nature Society members accompanied me to Costa Rica over the last few weeks for a trip entitled, “A World of Nature”. It sure was! Led by Jose Saenz working for Collette Vacations, we were treated to 12 days of rainforests, 220 species of birds, 4 species of monkey, reptiles, amphibians, butterflies, rubber spiders, a volcano, white-water rafting, lots of good food, and some heavy rain periodically. We were in the rainforest after all.

Tortuguero National Park was our first destination. Our lodge was accessible only by boat, as is everything in the park. Boat trips through the swamp forest occupied our time there, as did birding on the grounds of the beautiful Evergreen Lodge. If you have never been to the tropics before, the birds can be completely overwhelming on day one. More than once, I had to tell our group to “take a deep breath…take it one bird at a time”. A swirl of toucans, trogons, warblers, tanagers, hummingbirds, flycatchers, and euphonias bent the eye and mind in the first hour of light.

We took three nature explorations by boat the first day of the trip. The video below highlights some of our special sightings including a daring water rescue of a Three-toed Sloth, a White-faced Capuchin Monkey leaping about 45 feet out of a tree, and Great Curassow, one of our really good species we found on the trip. There will be more to come about our fantastic trip, but for now, enjoy the video…